NEWS RELEASES

April 7, 2006 (3:05 p.m. EDT)
No. 34

MINISTER MACKAY CONDEMNS BOMBINGS OF MOSQUE IN IRAQ

Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay today made the following statement on the series of explosions targeting Shiites at the Baratha mosque in northern Baghdad, in which a large number of people were killed and injured just after prayer time on Friday:

“The Government of Canada strongly condemns this attack on innocent civilians. We call for those responsible to be brought to justice, and we offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims. This is yet another attempt to derail Iraq from achieving stability and democracy by inflaming sectarian tensions through terrorist means. We hope that the repeated calls by Iraqi clerics and political leaders to refrain from retaliating will be observed.

“Canada urges Iraq’s political leaders to speed the formation of a government of national unity that will emphasize restoring security and protecting citizens from criminal and terrorist groups. We also urge political leaders to devote their efforts to building representative and transparent national institutions, including the army and the police force. Canada will continue to support the establishment of a stable and democratic Iraq and to mobilize the international community to join the reconstruction effort.”

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